This invention relates to siding panel systems and devices for installing them on a wall or the like and more particularly to devices for mounting a horizontal siding panel between and in lapped relation to vertically spaced upper and lower courses of such panels already mounted on a wall. In an important specific aspect, the invention is directed to devices for mounting a horizontal siding panel at the joint between upper and lower panel-clad prefabricated wall sections.
Horizontally elongated siding panels made of roll-formed sheet metal or molded plastic are widely employed for cladding exterior building walls. Typically, they are mounted in parallel, overlapping, interlocked relation on a wall with their surfaces sloping downwardly and outwardly to simulate the appearance of wooden clapboards or rows of shingles. Each panel is attached at its top margin to the wall by suitable fasteners, such as nails driven through a flat nailing flange portion of the panel top margin. A first locking means (e.g. an outwardly projecting lip) is formed on each panel adjacent the top margin and below the nailing flange; a second locking means (e.g. an inwardly projecting, upwardly opening channel flange), formed at the bottom margin of each panel, overlies and interlocks with the first locking means or lip of the next lower panel on the wall to secure the panel bottom margin to the wall and to conceal the fasteners that hold the lower panel.
In conventional installation of such panels, the bottom flanges of the panels of the lowermost course to be installed on a wall are first interlocked with a starter strip previously mounted along the lower edge of the wall, and the top margins of these lowermost panels are nailed to the wall. The bottom flanges of the panels of the second (next higher) course are then interlocked with the lips of the panels of the lowest course, and the top margins of the second-course panels are nailed to the wall. Thereafter, progressively higher courses of the panels are installed in succession in like manner one above another, until the wall is fully clad with a continuous array of the panels, each held along its top margin by nails and along its bottom margin by interlocking engagement with the adjacent lower course of panels so as to be fully secured against dislodgement.
It would sometimes be desirable to interpose a panel or a course of panels in a gap or space between previously installed upper and lower courses, i.e. at a location which is below as well as above already-mounted courses of panels. Unless the already mounted upper and lower courses are precisely spaced a proper distance apart, however, it is not possible to interlock both the first and second locking means of the interposed panel with the second locking means of the upper panel and the first locking means of the lower panel, respectively, because the tolerances for such spacing (to achieve the requisite interlocking at both the top and bottom of the interposed panel) are very small. Attainment of requisitely precise spacing is extremely difficult. In addition, since for proper overlapping and interlocking the top margin of the interposed panel must be inserted behind the bottom margin of the already-mounted upper panel, it is in general virtually impossible to fasten the top margin of the interposed panel to the wall, as necessary to secure both the interposed panel and the bottom margin of the upper panel. Consequently, the secure and stable installation of a panel interposed between vertically spaced courses of already-mounted panels has heretofore presented serious problems.
One commercially important situation in which the foregoing problems arise is in the use of siding panels on prefabricated buildings, wherein exterior walls (e.g. frame walls constituted of wooden studs, and having sheathing, doors, windows, etc.) as well as other components are produced in a more or less finished condition by a manufacturer and transported to a construction site for assembly. Since it is frequently difficult or impossible to transport a building wall (especially a wall more than one story high) as a single integral unit, prefabricated exterior walls are commonly made in two or more sections which are assembled one above another at the construction site. Installation of siding panels on prefabricated walls by the manufacturer is often considered desirable, to reduce labor costs in the field, to control the amount of siding used, and to expedite final assembly of the building; but in the case of walls prefabricated in upper and lower sections having siding panels installed by the manufacturer, there is a discontinuity on the assembled wall between the arrays of panels respectively mounted on the upper and lower wall sections.
That is to say, it is not feasible to dispose the top course of panels on the lower wall section and the bottom course of panels on the upper wall section so that they will interlock properly, or to effect such interlocking when the sections are assembled. Ordinarily, then, it is necessary to leave a gap (i.e. at the juncture of the wall sections) between the upper and lower panel arrays; and indeed, since the height of the lower wall section is usually not equal to the height of an integral number of courses of siding panels, such a gap is practically unavoidable. In such instances, it would be extremely difficult to so locate a bottom course of panels on the upper wall section that the height of this gap will equal the height of one course of panels, within proper dimensional tolerances for conventionally interlocking a course of panels between the upper and lower arrays. Moreover, even if the panels could be so disposed, it would not be feasible to properly secure the top margin of the course of panels thus interposed between the arrays.
For these reasons, in assembling upper and lower prefabricated wall sections having pre-installed siding panels, resort has conventionally been had to makeshift expedients such as the use of wooden trim boards to bridge the gap between the arrays of siding on the respective sections. These expedients are unsatisfactory both from the standpoint of appearance and because they detract from the protection and durability afforded by a continuous interlocked array of siding panels of the described type.
The copending U.S. patent application of J. Lynn Gailey (one of the applicants herein), Ser. No. 177,358, filed Aug. 11, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,673, for Siding Panel Systems and Methods of Installation, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, describes systems and methods for mounting a course of siding panels (having the aforementioned first and second locking means) between and in lapped relation to vertically spaced upper and lower courses of similar panels pre-installed on a wall, such that each course of the panels is attached along both the top and the bottom margins with security comparable to that of wholly conventionally installed panels, and the finally assembled courses of panels present the appearance of a continuous overlapping panel array. An illustrative example of use of the systems and methods described in the application is in the joining of arrays of panels respectively pre-installed on upper and lower prefabricated wall sections, i.e. to cover the joint between the sections.
For the practice of the systems and methods of the copending application, it is essential that the height (vertical extent) of the gap between the upper and lower courses of pre-installed panels be less than the panel height of the course of panels that is to be interposed between them. A suitable gap height is relatively easy to achieve, since these systems and methods do not require the close dimensional tolerances that would be necessary if the panels were to be interlocked in conventional manner, but accommodate a substantial range of gap heights for any given panel height. It will be understood that the term "panel height" as used herein refers to the vertical distance between the first and second locking means of a panel, while the term "gap" refers to the distance between the second locking means of the upper course and the first locking means of the lower course of panels; also, that the term "course of panels" embraces one panel or plural panels at a common elevation. For convenience, the course of panels to be installed between the upper and lower courses mentioned above will be referred to herein as the interposed panel course.
In a broad sense, the system of the aforementioned copending application includes the combination of clip means fixedly mountable on a wall for interlocking with the second locking means of a panel of the upper course to secure the bottom margin of the upper-course panel to the wall, and retaining means securable to the wall and having a portion for engaging the first locking means of a panel of the interposed course, at a location behind the upper-course panel and above the elevation at which the first locking means of the interposed panel would conventionally interlock with the second locking means of the upper course panel, to hold the first locking means of the interposed panel against downward movement below the aforementioned location and to secure the top margin of the interposed panel fixedly to the wall, with both the clip means and the retaining means concealed behind the upper-course and interposed panels, the clip means being shaped and dimensioned to accommodate insertion of the top margin of the interposed panel upwardly behind the bottom margin of the upper-course panel (i.e. after the clip means is mounted on the wall and the upper-course panel is interlocked therewith) at least to an extent sufficient to position the first locking means of the interposed panel at the aforementioned location.
It will be understood that, given the gap height defined above between the upper and lower courses, the aforementioned location can be so chosen that when the first locking means of the interposed panel is at that location, the bottom margin of the interposed panel (with the second locking means thereof) overlaps the top margin and first locking means of the lower course of panels. A complete panel assembly incorporating the described system of the aforementioned copending application also includes means for interlocking with the second locking means of the interposed panel to secure the bottom margin of the interposed panel to the wall in such overlapping relation to the lower-course panels, the interlocking means being concealed behind the interposed panel.
The method of the aforementioned copending application, for mounting an interposed panel between upper and lower courses as described above, thus broadly includes the steps of inserting the top margin of the interposed panel upwardly behind the bottom margin of the already-installed upper panel course until the first locking means of the interposed panel reaches a predetermined elevation higher than that at which it would interlock with the second locking means of the upper course of panels, fixedly securing the interposed panel to the wall at that elevation by engagement of the first locking means thereof with a retainer structure fixedly mounted on the wall, and securing the bottom margin of the interposed panel to the wall (in overlapping relation to the top margin of the lower course of panels) by engagement of its second locking means with an interlocking structure also mounted on the wall. In this way, the gap between the upper and lower courses is bridged by a panel to provide a continuous array of panels each secured to the wall along both top and bottom margins, yet in a manner that avoids the need for high precision in relative positioning of the upper and lower courses.
In the specific embodiments described in the aforementioned copending application, the interlocking means is the first locking means of a panel of the lower course, the retaining means further includes means for positioning its engaging portion at a height (above the first locking means of the lower course panel) equal to the panel height of the interposed panel course; the retaining means and the interlocking means cooperatively prevent upward and downward movement of the interposed panel after installation. The clip means in these specific embodiments comprises a first set of spring clips which (in the case of prefabricated building construction) are mounted on the upper wall section by the manufacturer of the wall sections, while the retaining means comprises a second set of spring clips which (in such case) are positioned and nailed to the wall at the building site by the assembler of the building.